Maternal mortality due to cardiac disease in low‐ and middle‐income countries

Objectives To assess the frequency of maternal death (MD) due to cardiac disease in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMIC). Methods Systematic review searching Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Emcare, LILACS, African Index Medicus, IMEMR, IndMED, WPRIM, IMSEAR up to 01/Nov/2017. Maternal mortality reports from LMIC reviewing all MD in a given geographical area were included. Hospital‐based reports or those solely based on verbal autopsies were excluded. Numbers of MD and cardiac‐related deaths were extracted. We calculated cardiac disease MMR (cMMR, cardiac‐related MD/100 000 live births) and proportion of cardiac‐related MDs among all MDs. Frequency of cardiac MD was compared with the MMR of the country. Results Forty‐seven reports were included, which reported on 38,486 maternal deaths in LMIC. Reported cMMR ranged from 0/100 000 live births (Moldova, Ghana) to 31.9/100 000 (Zimbabwe). The proportion of cardiac‐related MD ranged from 0% (Moldova, Ghana) to 24.8% (Sri Lanka). In countries with a higher MMR, cMMR was also higher. However, the proportion of cardiac‐related MD was higher in countries with a lower MMR. Conclusions The burden of cardiac‐related mortality is difficult to assess due limited availability of mortality reports. The proportion of cardiac deaths among all MD appeared to be higher in countries with a lower MMR. This is in line with what has been called ‘obstetric transition’: pre‐existing medical diseases including cardiac disease are becoming relatively more important where the MMR falls. ObjectifsEvaluer la fréquence des décès maternels (DM) dus à une maladie cardiaque dans les pays à revenu faible ou intermédiaire (PRFI). MéthodesRevue systématique en recherchant sur Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Emcare, LILACS, African Index Medicus, IMEMR, IndMED , WPRIM, IMSEAR jusqu'au 1er novembre 2017. Les reports de mortalité maternelle provenant des PRFI examinant tous les DM dans une zone géographique donnée ont été inclus. Les reports en milieu hospitalier ou ceux basés uniquement sur des autopsies verbales ont été exclus. Le nombre de DM et de décès liés à la maladie cardiaque a été extrait. Nous avons calculé le taux de mortalité maternelle par maladie cardiaque (TMMc, DM lié à un effet cardiaque/100.000 naissances vivantes) et la proportion de DM cardiaques parmi tous les DM. La fréquence des DM cardiaques a été comparée au TMM du pays. Résultats47 reports ont été inclus, faisant état de 38.486 d